Apple Quietly Updates AirPort Extreme, But What’s New?

Just as we expected, Apple updated its AirPort Extreme wireless base station yesterday — not long after the new Time Capsules entered the online store. But other than a different model number, what’s new?

An FCC filing that was made public yesterday prematurely revealed a refresh to the AirPort Extreme was imminent. Speculation suggested the device may come with a lower price point and support for the new three-stream standard for 450Mbps over both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

However, it seems the new unit is exactly the same as its predecessor. The device continues to sell for $179 and now sports a model number of MD031AM/A instead of the MC340AM/A, which featured on its predecessor, but Apple advertises no new specifications.

While this may seem completely insignificant, it does indicate one thing: Those rumors that suggested the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule devices would adopt the iOS operating system and provide features like media streaming and wireless software updates for our other iOS devices are, for the time being, incorrect.